The presentation will include an overview of the manufacturing of glued engineered wood products and the applicable code-referenced standards along with results of special fire test programs developed and performed to support the work of the ICC Tall Wood Building Ad Hoc Committee.

Adhesive bonding of wood laminations allows for the manufacture of large wood members. Adhesives used for this purpose must meet specified levels of resistance to heat at elevated temperatures. This performance is determined through testing. Code-referenced standards currently require such adhesives to pass a bond line shear test at elevated temperatures as a demonstration of this performance. The presentation will include an overview of the manufacturing of glued engineered wood products and the applicable code-referenced standards. During the work of the ICC Tall Wood Building Ad Hoc Committee (TWB), special test programs were developed and performed with the input of the fire service. New test protocols were developed to ensure the adhesive used in cross-laminated timber (CLT) will not result in the re-kindling of uncharred wood at the bond line. Background and the resulting test protocol for CLT will be presented.

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this course participants will be able to:

1.Recognize how cross-laminated timber and other glued engineered wood products are manufactured.

2. Describe the compartment fire test results and circumstances that led to the development of a full-scale room fire protocol for qualifying adhesives used to manufacturer cross-laminated timber.

3. Summarize the test protocols and associated pass/fail criteria established in PRG 320 for qualifying adhesives and evaluate their impact on mass timber construction.

4. Understand the proposed code change that addresses the performance requirements for cross laminated timber, and state its impact on mass timber construction.

Jason Smart, P.E., Manager, Engineering Technology
Jason Smart joined AWC in 2013 as Manager, Engineering Technology. In his position, Jason focuses on development and support for new and emerging technologies and related changes to design and model building code standards. Jason most recently worked for the International Code Council (ICC), the organization that develops the U.S. model building codes. He is a licensed Professional Engineer and a graduate of Virginia Tech with degrees in Civil Engineering, Wood Science and Forest Products, and Timber Engineering.

Sam W Francis, C.B.O., Senior Director for National ProgramsSam is the AWC Senior Director for National Programs, formerly being a Regional Director with AWC (American Wood Council) covering the northeastern United States. He is a CABO certified building official, and has nearly 20 years of experience as a building code official. He also served on the Ohio Construction Industry Certification Board, and the National Construction Code Inspector Certification Program Test Preparation committee.

Sam has also been very active with model code organizations. He has served on various committees with ASHRAE, BOCA, ICC and NFPA as well as several state committees in the Northeast. Most recently, he is a member of NFPA 1, NFPA 101, NFPA 5000 TCC/BLC/FIR, NFPA 664 and NFPA Fire Test Committee. In addition, Sam was appointed to the ICC Code Development Committee for the International Fire Code (IFC) and the Tall Wood Building Ad Hoc Committee. Previously, he has been a member of the International Building Code (IBC) General Code Development Committee and the IBC Fire Safety Code Development Committee.

Internationally, he has been a member of the Technical Advisory Group (TAG) representing the United States to the International Standards Organization (ISO) for the Technical Committee 92, Subcommittee 4: Fire Safety Engineering, and Technical Committee 59, Subcommittee 17: Sustainability.

He has taught extensively on subjects closely related to codes and code development throughout the United States and Canada. He is the author of numerous articles and publications on various building regulation subjects.

The PDF of the presentation will be posted 48 hours before the webinar, and can be accessed HERE